Panel explores drought's impacts on small business

The impacts of California's worst drought in recorded history are hard to avoid. Water bills go up, lawns go brown, and gray water goes trendy.

The squeeze on water use in times like this can be especially tight for Marin County's most prevalent employers.

"Small business are the most vulnerable when there is a crisis of resources," said Nanda Schorske, executive dean of College of Marin's Indian Valley campus.

Schorske was one of six speakers who participated in a Marin Economic Forum panel discussion Friday at Dominican University. The audience of about 50 listened to business operators and water officials explore the impacts the water shortage has on small businesses — and what small businesses can do to conserve water.

North Marin Water District general manager Chris DeGabriele and Marin Municipal Water District water conservation manager Daniel Carney began the meeting with presentations about the county's water supply — where the water comes from and how much there is. North Marin gets about 75 percent of its water from the Russian River system, which includes Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino. About 75 percent of Marin Municipal's water comes from local sources.

Representatives of the business community spoke on how their operations are affected by water supply and cost.

Some businesses can manage by being more conscious of use. But surviving through the drought is trickier for businesses whose product is largely dependent on water.

Michael Cronin, chief operating officer of Small World Trading Co., a San Rafael-based company that produces EO personal care products, said his company's operation is growing. Since water makes up to 80 percent of the company's products, production is vulnerable to changes in the water supply.

"We have to decide to grow around our current facility ... or look outside the region," Cronin said. "The cost of water is important, but our biggest concern is the fear of restriction. ... Are we trucking in water? Are we drilling a well? We're in the Canal district, so it will be salty water."

In West Marin, the Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. has 600 cows in stock, along with its creamery, a culinary center for tourists, and nine employees' families living on the premises. Each cow alone drinks up to 40 gallons a day.

With such a large demand for water, the cheese maker has taken steps to reduce usage, said Chief Operating Officer Lynn Giacomini-Stray.

The culinary center is temporarily closed. A pair of 2,000-gallon tanks at the creamery allow for the same cycle of water to be re-used throughout a week of production. The cows get their water from five ponds, which have been recharged with the recent rain.

Two wells on the property help lower dependence on the water company.

The biggest variable for the company at this point, Giacomini-Stray said, is the hay needed to feed the livestock. The cheese company buys most of its hay from the Central Valley, which has been hit even harder by the drought than the coastal regions. The price of hay has gone up from around $250 a ton to $350 a ton, Giacomini said.

Not all businesses have the water demands that the cheese company has, so not all businesses have to get so creative to reduce their water use. But all businesses can take action, Carney said.

The most effective solution to dealing with the water shortage, Carney said, is "not wasting."

Carney said that about a third of all business locations have an unknown leak — the majority of which are related to landscaping.

Finding those leaks and fixing them can lead to significant cuts in waters bills, while helping the region conserve its water supply, Carney said.

Water supplies appear safe for now — so far, only voluntary rations have been suggested — but water conservation should take on a more long-term view, Carney said, considering that California "will never have enough water" and that changing weather patterns could potentially mean more frequent or severe water shortages in the future.

"We know there will be droughts from time to time," Carney said. "But we won't be able to predict what climate change will bring."